My Name Is Wufei Chang
by Shia R. N
Summary: A serial killer is on the loose who targets trans-gendered individuals and Duo Maxwell is a lead detective on the case, Wufei Chang is worried that he may be next, but has a problem. Duo knows Wufei as Meiran, a girl he dated for 5 years. 2x5 ReadWarnings
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, this is my first story in... a long time, so bear with me, please. For fair warning: This is a mature story, set in and Alternate Universe, which will make reference to sex, hold strong language and talk about some serious topics, such as trans-gendered people, homosexuals, sex reassignment surgery, murder and many other things. If any of this isn't your cup of tea, or you are not open-minded enough to handle it, then please, do not waste your time or mine. Thank you and please enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its charries.

Chapter One

Wufei grunted as his lover released inside of him, knowing he himself wouldn't enjoy the same pleasure, but not minding too terribly. He rarely got off anyway, since he had long ago forbade Duo Maxwell from touching him.. There. It was one of many things that the man claimed he didn't understand about his Chinese lover, and a side-effect of the reason they would probably break up. Actually, this was, most likely, their last time together. Though they had never lacked passion, there were many parts of him that his boyfriend would never be able to accept.

The male part, for instance.

"Fuck, Meiran..." Duo whispered softly into his ear, kissing along his neck. It made Wufei's heart clench in his chest to hear the man he loved call him by that name. It hurt more when Duo gently groped at his breasts- Another thing he was forbidden to do, but often did anyway- those hated bags of fat. They would be the first to go.

"Duo, stop.."

Duo looked him in the eyes, "No, Mei, it shouldn't be a big deal. I've bowed on a lot of things, you know."

Wufei was silent for a moment and Duo pulled out of his ass and rolled onto his back, the mood lost. It was true, after all, that Duo had made a lot of sacrifices for him, without Wufei ever telling him why. He looked at Duo for a moment, almost regretting what he was going to do. Almost, because he knew he couldn't live this way. This farce of a life was not just, and it was not truthful. Between the two of them, these were their most important virtues. Duo would only hate him more if he continued this way, right?

He closed his eyes, knowing that Duo was lost to him either way. Wufei leaned over Duo and gave him a gentle kiss, wanting to remember that mouth forever.

They'd been together since Wufei's senior year in high school, while Duo was finishing his training at the police academy. It had been five years now, Wufei was working as a secretary in a law firm while attending the DePaul College of Law and Duo as a homicide detective for the Chicago Police Department, climbing higher and faster all the time. It hurt to see this part of his life go, but Wufei knew he couldn't put it off any longer, not with his first surgery already scheduled.

Rolling on his side, Wufei looked into Duo's eyes and took a deep breath.

"We... We need to talk."

~!~!~

Two years. Two fucking years and he still thought about Meiran every day. Not that she was Meiran anymore. Fucking insane, that's what it was.

Duo growled and pushed back from his desk, fed up. It was this stupid case, he told himself. Sick bastard going around killing trannys and he kept thinking "What if I see Meiran's face?" But then, he probably wouldn't recognize her now, would he... He hadn't seen her since that night she told him she was 'always a man on the inside'. How the hell was he supposed to take that? He was a heterosexual male, dammit. Yeah, he loved her, but how was he supposed to stay with that? Maybe that's why he never quite got over her. He still loved Meiran, but Meiran didn't exist anymore. It was almost like she'd died, but worse, in a way because he knew she was still out there, just as some freak man-thing. How the hell did a sex change even worse for women turning into men? Not like they could just chop-

"Maxwell, lunch break."

Duo looked up in time to see his partner, Heero Yuy, joined by the resident angel, Quatre R. Winner and the blonde's ever-present shadow and partner, Trowa Barton. Quatre gave him a bright, beaming smile, "What he means is to ask if you want to go to Antonio's with us for lunch."

"Hn," Came Heero's acknowledgment, which Duo had learned could mean anything from 'yes' to 'I'm only humoring you'. Duo forced his usual smile.

"Sure, Man, sounds great. The lack of leads in this case was starting to drive me crazy anyway." Duo said, moving back from desk even more than before and standing, brushing imaginary dust from his pants.

"The one hunting down and murdering transgendered individuals in the style of a crucifixion, right?" Quatre asked, a empathetic sort of look on his face. Quatre had a way about him that made him never seem sympathetic or pitying, but rather like he always understood exactly what people felt and could someone feel it on the same level. It was both a freaky and useful trait. He and Trowa made the best interrogation team on the force, in any department.

"Hn," Heero supplied with a nod, his cobalt eyes hard as steel and set in a glare aimed, thankfully, at the wall.

Trowa shook his head and spoke up in his soft, deep voice, a rarity even within their small group, "Sick." Heero made his agreeing noise again, and Duo nodded.

It really was sick. As much as Duo didn't agree with that... choice, as little as he understood it, he didn't think that anyone deserved to be killed for who they were or chose to be. Especially not in that sort of way. There had been six victims so far, all in different parts of the city, all beaten, whipped and stabbed in the side before hung on a cross in an apartment rented under a false identity. There had been many theories about why the killer chose this style, which would obviously bring to mind Jesus Christ, but Duo had his own ideas. He thought the killer was saying: "Some sins even Jesus couldn't die for."

~!~!~

Wufei took a deep breath and sat the paper down, stilling his body to prevent the nervous shake it was desperate to preform. In a word, it was terrifying, knowing that he had known at least one of Pontius Pilate's victims. Sally Poe had been a doctor at the clinic he went to for his hormones and her name was one of only two press-confirmed identities. It was awful enough knowing that a kind woman like Sally could be murdered so viciously, but also horrifying that the killer may also know who Wufei himself was. Wufei was many things, but he was not stupid. He knew that despite his black belt in martial arts, no one was invincible and if Pontius Pilate managed to drug him, like the others, it would not do him any good. His only hope before he could feel truly safe would be for police to catch the man who did this.

The police. Duo..

"Hilde!"

Wufei froze, recognizing that voice even after these past two years apart. _'Speak of the devil and he will appear,'_ He thought morosely. Luckily, he was still on his break and it appeared that Hilde Schbeiker was about to take their table anyway. Was Duo a regular here? Wufei usually worked the night shift, so he wouldn't know.

"Hey there, Stud-Muffin," Hilde said cheerfully, her mannerisms confirming what Wufei had expected. She stance was still polite, holding the menus down in front of her like she would for any customer. Duo was a regular, one that she obviously enjoyed the company of, but not a close, personal friend. And, more importantly, not a romantic partner. This made Wufei's shoulders sag in relief; He wasn't sure how he would be able to deal with seeing Duo with someone else, even after all this time. Hilde was still talking during all of this, "And you brought the other stud-muffins, how nice of you." She laughed her cure little feminine laugh. Ugh, she was so Duo's type that Wufei thought he might be sick.

_'Suck it up, Wufei, you are not some weak woman.'_

Duo chuckled, "Actually, today they're the ones that brought me. I don't know that I'd call these homely dudes stud-muffins though."

"Hn, baka." Damn, was that Heero Yuy? Another reason to be concerned; Heero had been Duo's partner on the force for three years before Duo and himself broke up, and those deep blue eyes never missed a thing. Even if he managed to evade Duo, chances were very good that Heero would both see him and recognize him. And to think he used to admire him for that attention to detail.

"Wufei, you're five minutes over your break time," the owner, Treize Khushrenada said, startling Wufei for a moment. The man was surprisingly sneaky, in his own way, and constantly had Wufei on his toes, both with swift orders and cunning sexual advances. None of which Wufei had accepted, of course. He wasn't ready for anyone in his new life to know about his sex change. They all knew him as Chang Wufei, and that's the way he would like it to stay.

"I'm sorry, my head was elsewhere. I will try to be less disrespectful in the future."

Treize laughed softly, elegant in his ways, as usual, "When have you ever worried about being respectful to me?" Wufei allowed a little smirk at this. It was true that they often forewent the formalities of being boss and employee and delved into heated and controversial debates. Treize was certainly good company for such things.

"Hey Wufei? You're off your break, right?" Hilde asked, coming back and taking her apron off, "I'm sorry to ask this, but could ya take table five?" Shit, Duo's table. "I have to go take my lunch."

"Uh, sure," Wufei said, trying to sound like he didn't care, all the while freaking out inside. No, not freaking out. Chang Wufei did _not_ freak out, under any circumstances, but he was certainly... Apprehensive. Hilde thanked him, obviously not catching his slip and went to punch out for her lunch before the five hour mark.

Wufei slowly approached the table. "Hello, Hilde will be taking her lunch break, so I will be your waiter for the time being. If you need anything, please let me know," he said, his voice soft and honey-like, much to his relief, not a single stumble. He remembered at the last moment to put his given name first, as he was supposed to with customers.

~!~!~

"My name is Wufei Chang."

**Reviews are appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone, thanks to all who reviewed, even the less than pleasant. For those who were concerned about the similarity (this is a term I use loosely) to **What Nature Screwed Up****, by In2lalaland, please worry no more. We have spoken and agreed that after the fact that they are both 2x5 based stories with Wufei as a trans-gendered individual, that is more or less where the similarities end and there is no animosity over this fact. Trans issues are more often than not glazed over in our society and it is important to me to bring them to light whenever possible. That said, ****What Nature Screwed Up******** is a fantastic story and I would urge all of you who have not read it to give it a looksie.********

********Thank you again to all of you who have offered your support.********

** For fair warning: This is a mature story, set in and Alternate Universe, which will make reference to sex, hold strong language and talk about some serious topics, such as trans-gendered people, homosexuals, sex reassignment surgery, murder and many other things. If any of this isn't your cup of tea, or you are not open-minded enough to handle it, then please, do not waste your time or mine. Thank you and please enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its charries.

Chapter Two

"Thanks, Man, but I think we're good," Duo replied, his smile devastating as it had always been, his teeth perfect and his lips stretched, but not thinned out of existence, like Wufei's often seemed to. Even as Meiran, Wufei had hated his lips. His heart thudded in his chest as he realized that Duo had not recognized him.

He did look different, of course. The testosterone had made his face a bit more angular and his skin didn't have quite the same soft texture that it once had. He had also allowed his hair to grow a bit, no longer feeling the need that he had had as Meiran to try and butch up his appearance. He was certainly all man now, from his flat chest and toned muscles down to that nice sized package tucked lovingly away in his underwear. He'd always wondered if Duo would know him on sight now. His mother liked to joke that he looked 'so different your own mother might not recognize you. Who are you again?' That always got a laugh.

"Ya know... Sorry, but you do look kinda familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" Duo asked suddenly, making Wufei forget his mental victory party.

Wufei forced a polite smile, "I don't believe so." That was not a lie, was it? Duo had never met Wufei Chang, only Meiran, and he certainly didn't know the real him, five years together or not, so he supposed justice was still being upheld here. Duo seemed to accept this with a slight nod, but still seemed to be considering it.

Recognizing an opportunity to escape, Wufei gave a shallow bow, "Thank you. Please enjoy your meal." He walked away from the table, trying not to show the relief that he felt at getting away unscathed. After checking on his other tables and helping an elderly couple get settled, Wufei left for the kitchen to check on an order.

"Do you know that man?" Treize asked, startling him a bit.

"Which?"

"Brown hair, blue eyes. He's been watching you, trying to be subtle," Treize said, watching Heero Yuy through the porthole in the kitchen door. "I've been trying to decide if he's planning to stalk you or proposition you."

Wufei smirked, "Well, he's not getting me anymore than you are."

"So there's a good chance?"

Wufei couldn't help it and laughed as he left this kitchen with his tray of food.

~!~!~

"Problem, Maxwell?" Heero asked his partner, holding back a smirk. Duo kept occasionally glancing up at Wufei Chang as the other man made his way around the tables. Heero knew for certain that Wufei was Meiran. Or, rather, Meiran had now become Wufei. There were enough differences that Heero could see someone missing the connection, but his sharp eyes caught the similarities between this man and the butch girlfriend Duo had been so very enamored with. This new choice in hair was unexpected, but those eyes and that posturing was all Meiran, one hundred percent certainty.

"Nah... That dude just looked really familiar," Duo said, giving one of his infamous false smiles. Heero wondered if he thought he could still fool the people who made up his closest circle of friends. Not that it mattered, in this case, because Heero was not about to bring Wufei's secret into the light. They were working on what could potentially be the most important case of their careers. The media was in a frenzy over this and they needed to end things as quickly as possible. Hate groups were beginning to publicly announce the killings as the "will of God" and it was a matter of time before one of them began killing in the same manner, trying to hide their misdeeds as those of Pontius Pilate. He couldn't afford to have his partner distracted.

"Hn."

There was a comfortable silence for a bit as they ate their food. Quatre fidgeted in his seat for a moment, drawing Heero's eyes. Finally, the blonde man spoke up, "Well... Um, there actually was a reason I wanted us all to eat out together today."

Ah, so this was the day.

"What's on your mind, Quat?" Duo asked around a mouthful of noodles. Heero kicked his partner in the shin, glaring at him for his poor manners. Duo swallowed his food, "Sorry."

"Um, it's fine," Quatre said, but then hesitated. Trowa looked at Quatre patiently, clearly ready to step in if his blonde partner needed him to. Quatre finally gathered his courage, "Look, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just come out with it." He blushed at his own subconscious choice of words, "I'm gay."

Heero was silent for a moment, looking to Duo for his reaction. The usually grinning man was surprisingly straight faced. "Quatre... The first time we met, you were wearing a pink shirt under a white Armani suit. Now, seeing as you're a detective and not a member of the Italian Mafia, I think it was a pretty safe assumption that you're gay." Duo grinned at last, "I mean really, you thought that was a secret?"

"That's not all, is it," Heero said, smirking slightly, his confidence sullying the effect of his questioning words.

"No," Trowa answered, placing his hand over Quatre's on in the table. "I am as well. Quatre and I have been seeing each other for almost a year now. We would appreciate if you kept it to yourselves. We make a good team and we do not want the chief to change things around."

Duo looked like he might have swallowed his tongue and Heero just barely managed to keep his chuckle in. Just barely.

~!~!~

_'Gay. Together? Gay. Right. Okay. Processing... Yeah, got it,' _Duo's mind raced to accept what he had just heard. Quatre, sure, the guy was as close to the stereotype as you could get without a lisp, but Trowa? Trowa was a man's man- Shit, he was, literally, wasn't he?- He was strong, silent and deadly when he needed to be. An ex-marine, Trowa was the kind of guy every woman wanted to be with and every guy wanted to be like. And he was wasting all that to be with a scrawny little guy like Quat? Not that the guy wasn't great, but-

"Duo? Are you alright?"

"He's mourning the loss of his chances with Barton." Was that a joke? From Heero Yuy? Oh, God, the world had to be ending... With everything else, it took a moment to realize what exactly Heero had said.

"I'm not gay," Duo insisted.

"We know you're not," Quatre said, "I always did think you were bisexual though, I mean, I've seen you steal glances before. At Trowa, I mean." Quatre was blushing slightly by the time he finished.

"And at Heero," Trowa supplied.

Duo flushed, "Th-that's just what dudes do! You know, a little comparison!"

Heero raised an eyebrow and Duo knew without a word being spoken that he was thinking 'Not the way you were looking'. He flushed a darker shade. "I'm not gay."

"Okay, Duo."

He wasn't. If he was gay, or even bi, he'd still be with Meiran. And maybe he did check other guys out, but that was normal. It had to be normal. It's not like he ever thought about doing it with a guy, not like he thought about girls. Except maybe that one time... Shit.

He wasn't gay. He just wasn't.

~!~!~

**Did anyone not see that coming? No? I didn't think so, heehee. Sorry it's a little shorter this time. I also apologize if Treize seemed OOC... He's many things, but he's not really that funny.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone, here we go again! **

********Thank you again to all of you who have offered your support.********

** For fair warning: This is a mature story, set in and Alternate Universe, which will make reference to sex, hold strong language and talk about some serious topics, such as trans-gendered people, homosexuals, sex reassignment surgery, murder and many other things. If any of this isn't your cup of tea, or you are not open-minded enough to handle it, then please, do not waste your time or mine. Thank you and please enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its charries.

Chapter Three

It had taken Heero two weeks to get clearance to look into Dr. Sally Poe's patient information, and even then there was very little he could legally dig into. Under most circumstances, he considered patient-confidentiality to be a good thing, but at this moment, it was starting to piss him off. Dr. Poe had been a strategic victim, because not only was she a M2F transgendered individual, but she specialized in the treatment of transgendered people and hormones. There was a good chance that in killing her, or perhaps in the process of doing so, Pontius Pilate had a whole new list of names to work with. The killings were likely to become much more frequent now, and the police force was at a serious disadvantage if they didn't have the same information. It was important to try and discover who was most likely to be next and take preventative action.

Going down the stack of patient profiles, Heero took note of any transgendered patients and then used their age and biological gender for cross referencing with the previous victims. It was obvious that Dr. Poe felt a great deal of personal affection for her patients; despite the list being easily a hundred and fifty people long, they were all organized by first name and had hand written notes, personal things, even, like the birth dates of children, written in the margins. The last page made him pause, eyes widening a bit.

Name: Wufei Chang

Born: Meiran Long

Gender: Female to Male, Transgendered (prefers male pronouns)

Age: 25, D.O.B, December 12th, 1985

Height: 5'4''*

Weight: 117 lbs*

Blood Type: B...

As Heero continued to look down at the page and the information there, he knew that he had a potential problem on his hands. If Duo saw this, all hell was sure to break loose. Heero let out a soft, uncharacteristic curse, but his mind was already formulating solutions. Looking down at the bottom of the page for Wufei's contact information, Heero picked up the phone on his desk and dialed.

~!~!~

Wufei ran a towel through his hair quickly to catch as much of the water droplets as he could from running down his body before answering his ringing house phone. "Chang."

"Wufei Chang. This is Heero Yuy."

Wufei's lips thinned into a straight line as he frowned. He had expected Heero to contact him sometime after their meeting in the restaurant, but after two weeks he had begun to believe it wouldn't happen. "Yuy."

"…. We were friends once." Heero's voice was soft and Wufei felt a bit of guilt. Heero was not the sort of man who made friends easily, and he knew that he had damaged the trust between them by leaving without a word and now, denying the closeness they had once had by referring to him by his last name.

"I appologize, Heero. After Duo... After everything, I had thought it would be too much to continue correspondence with you." He had left a brief message on Heero's phone that he was pursuing a new life and that had been it, Wufei's intent being a clean break from everything he associated with his life with Duo Maxwell. It was too painful to consider keeping a constant reminder. It was bad enough that he had kept one of Duo's black shirts, accidentally thrown in with his as he hastily packed, now hanging in the back of his closet, hidden from view, but never forgotten. "Please.. Feel free to call me Wufei."

"I understand," Heero said, his voice more resolute than it had been. "But this is not a social call."

"… Is it about Sally?"

"Yes, in a way," Heero affirmed, making Wufei's heart thud in his chest, making him feel like a weak, adolescent girl again rather than the strong man he had become. "We have reason to believe-" There was a sound in the background, a door? And then Wufei could just barely hear a 'hey, Hee-chan', and a soft acknowledging grunt from Heero. Wufei's chest hurt. Dammit, he was over that bastard!

"It would be best if we could talk in person," Heero's voice came over the phone again, a bit softer than before.

"Alright. The usual place?"

"Hn. Soon as possible."

Wufei checked his watch, "I can be there in about an hour and a half."

"Alright. I'll see you then."

~!~!~

"So, who was that?" Duo asked, starting up his computer. Something about Heero's tone had been different for a moment there. They liked to forget that he could be just as observant as the rest of them, but he did tend to pick up on things like this. He was good at reading people, almost as good as Quatre, and had the reflexes to act on it, unlike his blonde friend. But then, Quat had the Tro-man to do all that. Ugh, gay, he didn't want to think about that conversation right now.

"A patient of Dr. Poe's."

"Huh?" Duo asked, having forgotten his question as he went back to thinking about that stupid conversation. He just wasn't gay! If he'd ever thought about it, it was Meiran's fault!

"On the phone. I'm going to go meet with them soon."

"Oh... yeah, good idea. Need any help?" Heero seemed to consider this for a moment, then carefully arranged the papers on his desk, setting half aside.

"We need to speak to all of the potential victims, make sure they know what to look out for, advise them to leave the city for a while, if they feel it necessary. You can contact this half." He handed the papers over.

"You got it, Buddy." Anything to get his mind off of this "gay" crap.

~!~!~

Wufei was earlier than he had expected, but he didn't mind. The bar he and Heero had once frequented was nearly empty as he walked in, making it a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. Zechs Marquise, an ex-cop and the owner of the place was behind the bar pouring a drink for a pretty young woman and her male companion. In another corner, a small group of slightly shady looking young men seemed to be having a tense conversation over several beer glasses and-

"Woah!" Wufei just barely caught the man that ran into him, having just turned back to face the door at the sound of someone tumbling in. A bright Hawaiian shirt nearly blinded him and Wufei gave a mental curse. Howard. The older man grinned, clearly already intoxicated, and patted Wufei on the back, "Thanksh, man, I thought I washh aboot ta meet the floor!"

Wufei laughed softly, more out of relief at once again not being recognized than at Howard's statement. Howard owned a scrap business and a mechanic shop where Duo had been working when he and "Meiran" had met. Even after Duo had secured a full-time position on the force, the brunette had remained close with his previous employer and Howard had been a frequent guest at parties and to watch football with them.

"Heeeey Zechsyy, get my reshcuer a drink!" Howard was yelling, throwing an arm around Wufei's shoulders and dragging him towards the bar. Wufei went, though the contact and Howard's loud, slurring voice made him tense and uncomfortable.

"Really, that's not necessary," Wufei said, "And 'rescuer' is a bit too strong..."

"Nonshense!" Howard said, shaking him a bit, "I''sh the least I cen do!" Zechs- Smiling slightly, damn him- was already pouring the beer, knowing as well as Wufei did that Howard wasn't about to let this go. Wufei was still praying that Howard would let _him_ go soon, but it wasn't looking likely without a distraction. The door opened and Wufei looked, hoping that it was Heero, but no such luck was to be his as a tall, dark-haired man with a thin mustache and a receding hairline entered and took down the bar from them. Damn that Yuy, too punctual to even show up a bit _early_.

"Thank you," Wufei said, taking the glass and giving up fighting against this strong-willed man.

"A toast!" Howard said, raising his own glass, provided at just that moment, then looked at it for a moment, a little frown crossing his face. "This glass isn't mine, Zechs!"

Zechs smiled in that infuriating way of his, "My apologies, I thought you would want your 'savior' to have it." Wufei noticed then the graving on his beer glass, clearly a custom design and well done at that.

"Hell no!" He looked at Wufei, "No offense, kid, but it's bad juju to let shomeone elshe drink frem yer lucky glass!" Wufei smiled indulgently and allowed the older man to switch glasses with him. As Howard leaned on his stool, however, he fell over and this time Wufei was dragged down with him.

Howard gave a little moan of pain as Wufei rubbed his own head. "Are you both alright?" The dark haired man asked, having gotten up from his stool. He offered Wufei his hand and the Chinese man took it with muttered thanks as Zechs came around the bar to help Howard up as well. The stranger waved his thanks away and sat back down.

"Ahhh, shorrry," Howard said once he was righted and back on his stool again. And now, for our toast!" He grinned in a way oddly reminiscent of Duo and chugged his beer back. Wufei couldn't stop his own smile as he took a drink of his own.

What happened next was a bit of a blur. Suddenly, the world was tilting its axis and Wufei was seeing multiple Howards and he didn't feel so good...

"—fei! Wufei!" A steadying hand landed on his shoulder.

~!~!~

***In the official series, Wufei is 5'1'' and 101lbs! So, I feel justified in making him a bit taller at 25, even though he's still fairly short 117 is still freakishly skinny. But this is Wufei we're talking about. Wufei is like Chuck Norris... times 10. He can do the impossible and you can;t stop him even if you try. The rest of the stats are legitimate, I believe.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone, here we go again! **

********Thank you again to all of you who have offered your support. I apologize for the delay in releasing this chapter.********

** For fair warning: This is a mature story, set in and Alternate Universe, which will make reference to sex, hold strong language and talk about some serious topics, such as trans-gendered people, homosexuals, sex reassignment surgery, murder and many other things. If any of this isn't your cup of tea, or you are not open-minded enough to handle it, then please, do not waste your time or mine. Thank you and please enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its charries.

~!~!~

Chapter Four

Duo liked to think that if he walked out of his office with Heero by his side, said hello to someone they didn't know, and then said person walked into the office, they would still know without a doubt whose desk was whose. One desk, to the right when entering, was pristine and organized, the five law books on top in chronological order and nothing else but a computer and a single photograph to clutter up the desk. The other, on the left, was not messy, but one could easily describe it as 'organized chaos'. This desk had no photographs, but it did have multiple knick-knacks, including many little grim reapers and shinigami, as well as all of his paperwork and his favorite pen, shaped like Voldemort's wand. To kick it all off, he had a record player attached to the corner of his desk, set up currently to play some Bad Company as Duo, sitting in said desk, crooned along with "Running With The Pack". Heero really got pissed off when Duo sang like that.

Thinking about his mysterious partner, Duo stopped his dying-cat impression and gazed absentmindedly at the other man's desk. Heero really had been acting weird earlier, avoiding questions that he would have normally answered with monosyllabic ease. Something was going on, and Duo had been too quick to accept it, trying to avoid unpleasant thoughts. He realized now that he should have tried to push, subtly, of course, so that he at least knew if his partner was about to do something reckless, like offering up his life to the family of a victim he couldn't save. Heero had done things much more stupid than that in the past, so what's to say he hadn't gone and put himself in danger now? Shit, now he was worried about that stupid "perfect detective", what a load of crock.

When the phone rang, he was quick to jump on it for that very reason.

"Duo? I need you to come to the hospital." The violet eyed detective froze for a moment as he considered the words come from his partner over the phone. His mind was going a mile a moment. If Heero was on the phone, he couldn't well be in the hospital, could he? But if not him then who?

"Heero, what's going on?" He asked, hearing the hesitation in his partner's voice. Heero never hesitated. This had to be bad. "Is it Trowa? Or Quatre?" They were all he had, this little group of friends, his family after all that had died and left him alone..

"No," The relief was instant, but Duo's heart continued to race, "Just get down here and I'll explain everything."

"Y-you got it, Buddy." He hung up and barely remembered to grab his coat, the pocket of which held his badge, before heading out the door.

~!~!~

Heero was well aware of how delicate this situation was. Neither the man rushing to the hospital, nor the man laying sedated in the hospital bed were ready to meet again, and certainly not under these conditions, but he didn't have a lot of choice at this point. Wufei was the next victim. Would have been, if Heero hadn't shown up when he had. They had been very lucky, actually, that the place wasn't as crowded as the bars and clubs Pontius Pilate usually hit, where he could have easily led Wufei or someone like him out of the place and taken them to wherever he decided to kill them this time. The drug in Wufei's system was the same that the autopsies of the others had yeilded and with his connection to the late Doctor Sally Poe, Heero could say with absolute certainty that Wufei was still in danger. The very fact that their killer had tried to take him in a place where his face might be remembered was a sign that Pontius Pilate was becoming riskier and was choosing specific targets rather than the unrelated victims of the past. Heero wasn't going to take any risks with Wufei's life, and he doubted very much that tonight would be considered anything more than an unfortunate delay.

But now he had suspects, and perhaps that would make all the difference. In the bar had been a man and his girlfriend, Trant Clark and Luna Armonia, a small group of suspicious looking punks, the leader of whom was named Broden, Zechs Merquise, the owner... And of course Howard. Howard, who had supposedly been quiet drunk, but seemed sober enough when Heero had arrived. Howard, who had been trying to help Wufei up and out of the bar. Howard, who was not only one of Duo's few trusted friends, but who was now their primary suspect.

Heero looked forward to telling Duo that only slightly more than telling him about his ex-girlfriend... Existing as he did now.

"Heero, what's going on?" When had the braid adorned detective gotten there? How could Heero have become so careless, when Wufei needed him most? The thoughts were troubling and without a suitable answer. Duo seemed to misunderstand his troubled silence, "Shit, Man, don't do this to me, just tell me who's hurt."

"Meiran," Heero said without thinking, then shook his head, "No, not Meiran. Wufei. Her name is Wufei Chang now."

~!~!~

Duo didn't know how to react to that. His mind didn't seem to be processing what Heero was saying. Meiran. His Meiran, here and hurt? No, not his. Not Meiran. The... Person behind that door used to be his Meiran, but not any longer and it would save his a world of heartache to remember that. Not wanting to deal with all of these... feelings, Duo decided to take his thinking in another direction. "What happened?"

Heero was silent for a moment, those cold blue eyes sizing Duo up, making him wonder if his partner thought he couldn't handle it. Maybe he couldn't, it was hard to say. Finally, Heero spoke, "Wufei was a target."

It was so simple, hearing it like that, but it meant so much more. Meiran had nearly been killed. Maybe she was dying right behind that door. Duo felt his throat and mouth go dry, "H-how...?" He couldn't finish.

"He was drugged at a bar. I'd asked him to meet me, because he was one of Sally Poe's patients," Heero explained, eyes still watching for Duo to fall apart. He'd do his best not to cause his partner that sort of trouble.

"Is she..?"

"He should be waking up at any time. He's not hurt, just a bump on the head."

"He.." That was too weird to think about. Duo closed his eyes and took a deep break to collect himself. "Okay.. Let's go in."

~!~!~

Wufei woke up to violet eyes. It was like being taken back in time, waking up in bed beside his lover of five years, to that loving smile and those twinkling eyes, or better, waking up to closed eyes and a bit of hardness pressed against his body... Wufei tried to clear his head by shaking it, knowing his mind was getting away from him, but the mere attempt of such a movement made everything spin violently and had to swallow back bile. What in his room could he be mistaking for Duo's eyes? When had he gotten home? What had happened last night?

"You should lie still, you probably have a concussion." Heero. Heero was here? Concussion? Wufei turned his head slowly, taking in the white walls of what was clearly a hospital room and let his eyes settle on his best friend. "Status?"

"No fucking clue," Wufei answered through gritted teeth. He felt like he had a hangover from hell and no memory of how he got it. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

_'Come on, Yuy, obviously not,'_ Wufei thought and it must have been clear on his face because Heero's cheeks colored just the slightest bit.

"Pontius Pilate drugged you." Wufei turned at the sound of that voice, his dark eyes widening a fraction that he couldn't control. It hadn't been in his mind, Duo was here, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips pressed into a thin line that looked extremely out of place on that usually cheerful face. Wufei felt guilty, as if it were his fault that Duo wore that expression. Perhaps it was, but he wasn't about to apologize. If only his ex-lover could understand the pain he has lived with as Meiran...

"Oh," Wufei said intelligently, before the reality of what Duo had just said seeped in, past the shock of seeing the man he'd loved and settled into his gut with a queasy feeling. "Oh my God..." His whole body began to shake, despite himself, remembering the nightmares he had had about that very thing happening, how close he had surely brushed with a painful, honorless death. A hand squeezed his shoulder comfortingly and despite the tirade of feelings assaulting him and the nausea building inside, he wanted to believe the hand belonged to Duo and not Heero.

_'How sick, Chang Wufei, that you think about having him again at a time like this,'_ Wufei thought, disgusted by himself.

"You're not in danger now, Wufei. We'll keep you safe," Heero said, his voice strangely soft. He must have noticed how green Wufei's face was becoming, because he had a bucket there just in time. Wufei felt weak and more like a fool than he had in a very long while. A tender hand running through his hair, which was unbound, he noticed at last, was both surprising and comforting, as was the voice that accompanied it.

"It's alright, it's just the concussion, okay? No shame in that." Duo's voice was softer than before, more kind, like he remembered it. It was like being taken back three years, to the last time Wufei had managed to catch the flu and duo had taken three days off of work to stay home and take care of him. It was a painfully sweet memory, but the hand in his hair didn't stop until Wufei had finished emptying his gut, and the tenderness didn't leave Duo's face until they made eye contact and the man remembered, his eyes shifting to coldness again in a split second, that Wufei was no longer a woman, and certainly not the woman he had loved.

~!~!~

It was so easy to slip right back into those feelings. If he didn't look down at her chest or directly at her face, this... person still looked a lot like his Meiran. Her reactions were close enough tp Meiran's and it was difficult not to comfort her. Duo had to force his eyes away. His gaze met Heero's and his partner was sizing him up again. Did he find him lacking? Was this considered weakness in the eyes of Heero Yuy?

"I thought I would go and talk to your boss, Wufei. I doubt you'll be able to go back for a while. Not until we have this man on trial," Heero said, eyes lingering on Duo's for a moment before turning to Mei- Wufei. Chang. Just Chang.

"That's not possible," Wufei said, "I need to be working. I.. I have a debt to pay off still."

A debt? Meiran was never in debt, always keeping things anally organized, never spending money she didn't have... Heero was already answering, making Duo have to pay attention again.

"We'll work out some sort of compensation. It's not worth your life, Wufei," He said, using quadruple the amount of words Duo normally found him to average monthly, "For all he knows, you remember everything and leaving you alive is too dangerous. We would rather have you as our star witness than in a pine box."

Mei- _Chang_ was nodding numbly. If it had been some random bloke off the street, Duo would have felt for the guy, but as it was...

"I'll call soon. Detective Maxwell will be your guard. We're not taking any chances." This surprised both of them and Duo looked at his partner for a good minute, Heero's eyes staring straight back. This was a test, it seemed, to see if Duo could handle working on this case even with Meiran in the picture. Duo finally gave a small nod and the Japanese-born detective left the hospital room.

The silence was stifling.

"If you have questions..." Chang said softly, meeting Duo's eyes- Or at least he would have, if Duo hadn't childishly looked away- "Then I will answer them. Anything you want to know."

Did he have questions? Damn right he had questions.

~!~!~

Treize Khushrenada knew that Detective Heero Yuy would be coming by long before the man entered his establishment. In fact, Treize prided himself on knowing a great deal of things about a great deal of people. In fact, before loving to Chicago, the San Francisco police had called upon him for his knowledge on a great many occasions, especially because he was only very rarely wrong. He had known, for instance, that Heero Yuy was a cop from before the first time the man had eaten in his restaurant, four months ago, with his friends Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner and Trowa Barton, and that Duo Maxwell was the ex-boyfriend of his ex-female employee, Wufei Chang.

Wufei's gender-reassignment was a surprise to find out, however. The young Chinese man was so decidedly.. Male, that it had taken Treize a few weeks and a photograph in a bar to figure things out. Of course little Wufei had no idea that Treize knew, and that suited the older man just fine. He was a fun little thing to play with, but Treize had also known from early on that as intriguing as Mr. Chang was, he was not the one that Treize was looking for.

This young detective, on the other hand, with his cold blue glare and uncontrollable brown mop, had quite a bit of potential.

"What do you mean you 'know'?" he bit out, clearly irritated and suspicious already. In retrospect, perhaps Treize should not have welcomed him by name...

"It is easy to learn a great many things when Zechs Merquise is your lover," Treize answered with a smile.

"Hn.. Then you understand that everything we speak of now is confidential."

"Of course, Detective. I would hate to be arrested for obstruction of justice. If you're as good as they say, then I'm sure you could find enough evidence for courts to put me away for a long time." His smile never faltered.

"Wufei Chang is being placed into protective custody."

"And where might he be, if I need to reach him?" He asked, just to watch the younger man scowl.

"I cannot tell you where he will be, only that he will not be here until further notice." Ahh, efficient.

"Very well, Detective Yuy. Please do your best to catch whomever may be endangering my employee and return him to my bed, I mean me, as soon as possible." That got a lovely reaction, just a tiny bit of a flush in the mans cheeks, though probably mostly due to anger, if one took the clenched teeth into account.

"Hn."

"And Detective?" He moved in and managed to just barely brush his lips against Heero's before the other man had him slammed back into a wall, holding him away by his neck at arms length. Treize didn't flinch only because of the sheer triumph that washed through him. "Do not be afraid to stop by. Any time."

Those cobalt eyes were searching for something in his face, some trigger, but Treize just continued to smile. Without another word, Heero Yuy had released him and left the office. Taking a moment to savor the oh-so-slight tingle of his lips, and his neck, different, and yet the same, from the same man, Treize sat back for a moment in his desk chair before fishing his cellphone from it's place in the desk.

"Zechs? I do believe I have found our third."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone, here we go again! **

********Thank you again to all of you who have offered your support. Have I mentioned before that I actually do like reviews? I won't beg for them, but really... It's nice to know. What direction you think things are going, what I can improve on... I know it is being read, at least. I get "alert" messages all the time... Please, don't feel pressured to review, but if you have a thought, please don't hesitate to tell me.********

** For fair warning: This is a mature story, set in and Alternate Universe, which will make reference to sex, hold strong language and talk about some serious topics, such as trans-gendered people, homosexuals, sex reassignment surgery, murder and many other things. If any of this isn't your cup of tea, or you are not open-minded enough to handle it, then please, do not waste your time or mine. Thank you and please enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its charries.

~!~!~

Chapter Five

"You bet I have questions," Duo growled, feeling just a bit guilty when he saw M- Chang flinch. It didn't stop him. These questions had plagued him for years and he wasn't letting her avoid him now. "Why."

Chang seemed to pause for a long moment. Was it that he didn't know? That was frustrating, and Duo had nearly lost patience when the other finally spoke up, "I was... I was dreadfully unhappy."

"We were together for so long, I loved you, and I thought you loved me. I mean, we fought, but you can't say we weren't happy," Duo felt like he was defending their relationship. A treasured love he'd held close to his heart for so very long, and it hurt to hear her say that she wasn't happy. "I know we were happy together, Mei."

Meiran looked up at him, startling him again with the familiarity of those black velvet eyes. "I loved you. It made it.. difficult to leave you. Or to let you leave me, as it was."

"Then why?" Duo's voice was barely a whisper.

"I hated myself." It took him by surprise, to hear the strongest person he'd ever known say something like that. Meiran had always seemed so self assured, but had it all been a hoax? Was everything that he thought he knew a manufactured facade? Unaware of Duo's thoughts, Meiran continued, "I hated that I was weak, no matter how much I trained, I could never get stronger than you, or Heero, or my brothers... But it's more than that. I always knew inside that I was supposed to be a boy. My body never felt right. I hated it, everything about it, because it wasn't... It wasn't _me._ It wasn't really mine. I..I've always been Wufei, Duo, not Meiran. I was never Meiran..."

He didn't know how to respond to that for a long moment. Meiran... Wufei was trembling slightly and Duo knew that this was a vulnerability that sh- he had a hard time showing. She was so much like his Meiran, but... This person was different. This person was older, more mature, somehow finding the strength that Meiran hadn't had.. to admit to fault.

"You were... You were Meiran. You were my Meiran, and I loved you. I didn't love... 'Wufei', I loved Meiran," there was a pleading quality in his voice he wished would go away, but he needed to say this and needed to believe it, for his own sake.

"You loved me, Duo.. I'm the same on the inside, I just... I look the way I've always felt now."

"We could have gotten you help! We could have taken you to therapy and taught you to love yourself! It's not easy to do sometimes, I know, but we could have made it work, Mei, we could have done it and we'd be happy. Hell, we'd be married, probably have a tyke by now."

All that got him was a humorless snort. "I never wanted to have kids, Duo, you knew that. In fact, getting pregnant was my worst fear..."

But Duo had wanted that, and he'd never given up the hope of convincing his love to let him make a baby with her. He'd wanted a little Meiran to take to parks and teach to swim and ride a bike and to read bedtime stories to... More pain assaulted him with the realization those dreams were long gone and buried. "Therapy, Meiran, we still coulda.."

"No."

"What?"

"I went to a psychiatrist for years," This false Meiran, this stranger said, as Duo began to wonder once again if he'd ever even known the woman he claimed to love. "First because I thought something was wrong with me, then to get my papers signed off. Most surgeons won't preform the operation without having you first prove in psychological evaluations that you are really the gender you say you are."

"So you faked it for some quack-"

"There's more," His ex-lover interrupted, but then seemed to have to take a moment to compose what he wanted to say, "There are other differences that modern science is just discovering. The Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior Hypothalamus, a part of your brain that controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue and many other things, as well as the Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis are found to be quite a bit larger in males than in females. Mine is over double the size it should have been for my genetic gender, Duo."

There were too many words in there that Duo didn't understand, and that made him feel more angry than perhaps he had the right to. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to take several deep breaths. Meiran was a man now. Meiran was now Wufei Chang and no amount of arguing would change that. More important, when Duo thought rationally, was the fact that Wufei's life was in danger and Duo was a detective on the case. Heero had trusted him to keep Wufei safe and he couldn't let his personal insecurities (if he was honest with himself, he knew that a lot of his animosity was caused by that) get in the way of doing what was right.

Like it or not, Wufei Chang was someone he'd just have to deal with.

~!~!~

By the time Heero returned to them, they had fallen into an uncomfortable silence, neither daring to look at the other. Wufei didn't know what else to do. He'd already showed an uncharacteristic amount of vulnerability and he wasn't at all prepared to do it again. Luckily, Duo seemed to be slowly processing what he had already said. Hopefully this would give him enough time to pull himself together. He didn't want to have any cracks in his armor the next time Duo staged an attack.

"I'm having the doctor release you," Heero said, handing Wufei some paperwork, which he took and barely glanced at before signing it. "This place is too... Vulnerable."

_'Popular term today,'_ Wufei thought dryly, but nodded nonetheless. "He'll strike again, Heero. It's a matter of time. What makes you think we won't just move on to the next name on the list? Someone else could be dead by now."

"It's possible, but-"

"It doesn't fit his M.O." Duo interrupted, seeming agitated. "His killings are all ritualistic. You getting away is a disruption."

Heero nodded, "There's still a chance that he will kill again, but it's more likely that you are still his primary objective."

"And there's nothing we can do about that right now. You're our only goddamn lead." Duo reached into the front pocket of his shirt, only to find it as empty as Wufei knew it would be. It was an angry tick of his: reaching for his pack of cigarettes when his emotions ran so high they cut through his carefully constructed joker face. It didn't matter that Wufei had helped him- made him- quit a year into their relationship, the tick was firmly installed, from the time Duo was eleven years old, living in the streets, and smoked his first cancerstick.

"Don't tell me you've started again," Wufei said, unable to help but ask.

"Uh, no, just... You know... Muscle memory... I guess," Duo replied, voice trailing off. The awkward silence reigned again until Heero scowled and came to help Wufei from the hospital bed and into a pair of pants. Wufei blushed slightly and kept his eyes lowered. This would be the first time someone saw his... his body, the first person who wasn't a doctor anyway, and this was hardly how he'd imagined it. Someone up there just didn't like him right now, that was for sure.

~!~!~

"Heero, you're fucking insane."

Yes, he was beginning to suspect that himself, because he'd expected Duo to take the news just a bit better than this. "Duo. It makes more sense."

"Like hell it does," Duo scowled, "So he's in danger, put him in witness-protection and that shit."

Heero shook his head, trying to contemplate a.. delicate way to convince his partner that this was the best possible plan. "I don't want him that far. He needs to be where we can keep an eye on him."

"So keep him with _you_."

Heero's condo was nice enough, but having Wufei there would be a very bad idea, given his usual traffic of bed-partners, both sought out and otherwise. Besides, Heero wanted to test his theory about Howard, and what better way to do so than to see them interact again at one of Duo's weekly football nights?

"If he's staying with me then Mr. Howard is less likely to-"

"It's not Howard. There's no way, Hee-man, I would have seen something before. He would have been asking about the case or something. We never talk about work." Duo sounded exasperated, and by now they had had this conversation a time or four.

"We can't claim he is innocent until he is cleared as a suspect."

"We can't declare him guilty with a reasonable doubt."

"Hn." It wasn't reasonable, they both knew better. Duo was letting his emotions cloud his judgment. It was hard to blame him, between having his ex-girlfriend, now an ex-boyfriend, show back up into his life under such circumstances, and now having an old, dear friend accused of ritualistic murder, but Heero didn't have time for sympathies. He met Duo's eyes and held his gaze until the other man sighed.

"Fine."

~!~!~

Two days later, it was getting harder all the time to remember that Meiran had ever left. Wufei had so easily slipped into the void she had left in her absence, waking early to do the katas Duo still remembered watching so long ago, keeping the apartment in the same strict order it had been in when she left, going so far as to rearrange the living room furniture, and cooking dinner just in time for Duo to eat a hot meal as soon as he came home. After two days, the cup-of noodles were gone from his cupboard, packed away in some lonely pantry, and replaced with fresh herbs, water chestnuts, fruits and fine ingredients, preparing the same meals Duo's stomach had wept for for too many years now.

It was all too fucking painful.

Because as much as Wufei talked like Meiran, moved like her, cooked like her, he was always quick to remind Duo that he was an entirely different person. When he spoke, when he turned to look at him, and literally when Duo slipped and called him by the wrong name.

But despite the pain, Duo couldn't help but be thankful for the company. If Wufei hadn't once been Meiran, Duo was sure that they would have been great friends. There was a nice dynamic between them, like what he had had with Meiran, but vastly different. Duo often tried to pretend that they really were just friends, just getting to know each other, instead of lingering on the doubts he felt when he thought about the farce their relationship had to have been.

Now, sitting on the couch, was a time like that, as they watched an old action flick they'd both seen before, together even, though the feel of it with each one lounging on opposite ends of the couch was different that the feel of watching it while wrapped up in each other, stealing more kisses and glances at each other than at the movie. More questions filled Duo's mind, like they always did when he had Wufei near him in this odd, almost comfortable sort of way and in the ease of the moment, he dared to ask.

"Why are you working as a waitre... Waiter?" Meiran had been a secretary at a large law firm, had made more money that Duo, in fact, and had been going to law school. Wufei should be a lawyer by now, not toiling away in some restaurant for minimum wage.

"I told you and Heero, I have debts."

"Meiran never had debts."

Wufei scowled at him, sitting up in a more rigid sort of posture, muscles tightening like a cat ready to make a hasty escape. "Meiran had never had to find a way to pay for multiple surgeries that insurance failed to cover, not to mention testosterone injections."

Duo was silent for a moment, letting this sink in. When they spoke like this, he understood on some level that Meiran had felt an undeniable urgency to change herself to fit the self she knew she was. When Wufei talked about it like this, he still heard that determination, that drive that meant she had been willing to lose everything in an attempt to someday feel... complete. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. "What happened with the firm?"

Wufei took a long moment to answer that question, eyes getting a far off look in them and Duo knew from experience that Mei- Wufei was remembering something terribly unpleasant.

"…. It was... hard. Being there," he finally said, "When I began transitioning, many people made things.. difficult for me. The partners didn't like what I was, and I made a lot of people uncomfortable.. disgusted... They couldn't up and fire me, of course, because I was excellent at my job and I would have sued them in a heartbeat, but they could go out of their way to make me miserable. I stayed for a few months, but then when I needed time off.. They claimed they couldn't give it to me. And it suddenly wasn't worth it anymore. I had to quit, and then drop out of school, just to afford the down payment on the loan. I was able to stay with my parents during recovery, so that helped a bit, but I have been working hard ever since. Before this, I had two jobs, but one employer became uncomfortable and asked me to resign. I didn't want the same trouble again."

Duo often wondered if there was any point in continuing to have faith in humanity. In addition, he now felt like an asshole, having his own personal pity-party about how rough the past two years had been on him when Meiran had been in pain and discriminated against and alone. Horribly alone.

~!~!~

Their breathing was hard and mingled together and mingled together in the hot air of the room, the slapping of bodies driving out everything but the sound of breathy moans. Duo drove deeper into his partner, wanting to feel that connection. He missed feeling connected.

Sex was a momentary solution to an ongoing problem, but burried to the hilt in another warm body, Duo could hardly bring himself to care. This one felt right, this one felt real.. And he couldn't even remember meeting her and bringing her home.

"D-Duo..." She moaned, but her voice was off. Too deep. Duo turned his bed-partner's face to see and was horrified to find an angular, masculine face, flushed with arousal, a thin sheet of sweat coating him, matting dark hair around his eyes. Coal eyes met amethyst and Duo felt a shiver go through him and he came-

And shot up in his bed, breathing hard and covered in sweat, at once terrified and relieved to find it was just a dream. A sex dream, about Wufei. Not Meiran. Duo grew cold as he found the wet spot surrounding him. He'd gotten off. He'd fucking gotten off, dreaming about screwing another man. Wufei.

Duo curled on his side, shivering and wrapped his arms around himself in a futile attempt to get warm.

"I'm so fucked up..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone, here we go again!**

**I know, I know. It's late. Really late. And this is a shorter chapter, I just have been swamped. Since we last talked I have: settled my financial issues for college, found a new apartment, been approved for and moved into said apartment, visciously budgeted myself and then, after three days of unpacking... found my laptop screen had been broken in the move. Which was another week and a half to fix, and then a half a week after that to write. So, I'm sorry. Hopefully, the next chapter will be more quick in coming. And longer. :)**

**For fair warning: This is a mature story, set in and Alternate Universe, which will make reference to sex, hold strong language and talk about some serious topics, such as trans-gendered people, homosexuals, sex reassignment surgery, murder and many other things. If any of this isn't your cup of tea, or you are not open-minded enough to handle it, then please, do not waste your time or mine. Thank you and please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its charries.**

~!~!~

Chapter Six

The dreams had become a nightly occurrence.

It was getting to the point that Duo couldn't look Wufei in the eyes in the morning and he ended up dwelling on it all day. He thought about a lot of other things too. The things Wufei had told him, the things he had gone through both to become who he was, and because of other people reacting to that fact. It made him feel like shit, more often than not. He was constantly at odds with himself, having to defend his response to Meiran telling him those years ago. He felt like his heart had split in two: the old Duo, holding that anger close to himself, and the new, wanting to mend bridges with Wufei anyway he could.

Anyway that _didn't_ include sex, that is.

To make matters worse, Howard had not yet been cleared as a suspect. He had no alibis, far as Duo could find, trying to have casual conversations with the man, not yet wanting him to know he was a suspect. Duo didn't want to lose one of his few real friendships. Not when he knew for certain that Heero had made a mistake. He had no alibi for the times of the killings, because he often stayed at the shop, alone, working late. Or he was out drinking. At least one of the nights, he had been with Duo, at their weekly dinner and football night, which had been admittedly sparse lately, few and far between, but it wasn't enough. The timing wasn't exact enough.

And Heero himself had been hard to track down lately, not a trait one wanted in the partner they were supposed to entrust their life to. Duo's calls were going to voice-mail more and more often and though he had asked, Heero denied having any new girlfriend. It was hard to tell how truthful the other man was being, however, when Heero refused to meet his eyes when ever the subject was poached.

Standing outside Howard's auto-repair shop, Duo shifted his thinking back from his best friend and partner to the man that was inside, a falsely accused friend, who Duo needed to have cleared as soon as possible. Entering through the garage as he always did, the long haired man let out a hearty bellow in greeting, causing two of the mechanics to look up with matching, telltale grins. There was always something going on at Howard's.

"Bossman handy?" Duo asked, his own grin growing to match that of his former coworkers. One of the men pointed towards Howard's office and Duo forced himself to make his usual small talk with the crew, though his mind was elsewhere. After what his instincts deemed a suitable amount of time, Duo stood up straight from the car he had been leaning back against and stretched, promising that they should all go out for drinks together soon. Then he headed into the lion's den-

Or the heavily cluttered rat hole that Howard managed to call an office. Amazingly, Duo had never seen the man struggling to find anything, from paperwork to a client's car keys. It was reassuring to see things so familiar. Howard just didn't have it in him to kill someone, let alone so many, or in such a horrific way.

"Duo! How goes the detective-ism?" Howard's grin was the same too, huge and genuine, despite the ever present sunglasses keeping his eyes from Duo's gaze. It was nigh impossible to resist grinning back.

"Same ol' same ol'," Duo answered, seeing as his _job_ was one of the few aspects of his life that really was the same as always. Unlike everything else that Wufei Chang had a hand in... "Some badie gets it in his mind to go off and kill some folks and I bring the bastard to justice."

"Hero complex."

"No, that would be my partner, thank you." They shared a laugh.

"I been reading about this guy. Pilot?"

"Pontius Pilate."

"Right, killing trannies." Duo's mind flinched at the word, thinking of how Wufei hated it, and how often he had used it in reference to his case.

"Yeah," He said lamely, not able to bring himself to correct Howard's ignorant language.

Howard nodded, looking pensive for a moment. "Tough one. Especially for you, what with Meiran."

Duo thought he might have actually flinched that time, and took a moment to compose his face. "Not so tough. I know what's right here and I'll bring this killer to justice just like any other."

Howard was silent again, then finally, as Duo was about to bring up their football night, said, "I'm not condoning what he's doing, Duo... but I think I get this one. It's disgusting, what those people do to themselves. It's a crime against God and nature."

Duo's mouth went dry. "No one deserves to be murdered and propped up in some sort of gender crucifixion."

"Maybe so," Howard said, and after a tense moment of silence, their usual talk of football and the shop commenced. Duo couldn't shake it though, the shiver that had gone up his spine. It made him wonder what he would have seen if he'd been able to look into Howard's eyes just then. It made him wonder if there was actually a chance Heero hadn't made a mistake after all.

~!~!~

"Shut up," Heero said, irritated. He had come because Zechs had asked him to, but he hadn't expected Treize to be there with the restaurant's lights down low and candle light framing what appeared to be a romantic dinner for three. Tonight was supposed to be about the case, not about whatever... ridiculous notions Treize had that what they were doing was anything more than sex.

"It was merely an observation, Detective," Treize said with a smile, fingers trailing over Heero's cheek. Heero allowed the motion only because Treize was baiting him again. The older man proceeded to press his lips to Heero's, kissing him slow, but chastely, making Heero both want to fight and slam the other man against a wall, or a table or the damn floor..

"It is true that you have beautiful eyes, Detective Yuy," Zechs Marquise said, his voice velvet, his breath hot on Heero's ear. These two were dangerous, and addicting. "And your anger only makes them brighter." He pressed a kiss below Heero's ear, just behind the edge of his jaw. The perfect detective nearly shivered.

Zechs, less juvenile than his partner, was harder to resist, when he decided to turn on his charm. With Treize, Heero could use his annoyance as a shield, but with Zechs... His confidence was all-consuming. But where Zechs had confidence, Treize had a charisma he didn't often let show full force. When his eyes were alight with passion, Heero could see this man doing great things. Treize was the kind of man who could raise armies and lead whole nations into a new world. Sometimes, however, Heero feared for the type of world this man could create, and so he was more than pleased with the fact that Treize seemed content with his little restaurant, and with Zechs.

And, apparently, with Heero.

The older man began pressing his lips to Heero's neck opposite of Zechs', tenderly licking and and nipping at Heero's skin, relaxed in a way that the young detective envied, as he tensed under their administrations.

"Have dinner with us, Heero," Treize said, making his name sound sinful in a way it never had before. Heero grit his teeth to stay strong.

"No."

"A drink, at least," Zechs murmured softly, whispering softly into Heero's ear, a gentle finger moving harmlessly up and down his forearm, the movement both distracting and soothing. Another gentle kiss was placed over the area over the first and Zechs sucked on the skin there, slow, but hard enough Heero knew he would leave a mark.

With a sigh, the blue-eyed detective decided to concede once again.

~!~!~

Wufei was not sure exactly how they found themselves in this position.

He had been showering, not two minutes ago, when he heard something suspiciously like a window opening. Slipping a robe around himself, he had crept down the hall, ready to protect Duo's home. Instead, he had somehow ended up on the floor, straddling the legs of a very surprised Duo, his robe beginning to fall open and revealing his muscled chest, and the scars from his bilateral mastectomy.

"Um, hi..." He was staring, and Wufei fought the urge to cover himself. He had nothing to be ashamed of. It was only fair to let Duo gawk for a moment and then get over it.

"Hi. Do you usually let yourself in through the kitchen window?" A calm voice.

"Hmm? Uh, no, I... I grabbed the wrong set of keys today. No house key." Duo shook his head, "Damn, do those look real."

"….Thank you."

"Er, I didn't mean to be.."

"It's fine," Wufei said, getting up and walking back towards the bathroom to finish his shower. He was proud to get there without Duo seeing the tent in his pants.

~!~!~

The dreams were becoming more realistic, from the look and feel of Wufei's body to the fact that Duo was now aware of his partner's identity from the beginning. He hadn't gone through this many sets of sheets in a week since he was a teenager, and it would be downright embarrassing, should Wufei ever notice. Hell, it was embarrassing anyway.

"Howard is coming at four?" Wufei asked from the doorway of the laundry room, spoon in hand.

"Yeah. Thanks for cooking, 'Fei," Duo said.

There was a pause. "Don't you think he'll notice something? I don't look that different, and I'm making all of my usual foods."

"I'm counting on it," he answered. Wufei nodded solemnly and Duo gave him a reassuring smile, "Nothing's going to happen to you here, Fei. And if you don't trust me, I asked Heero to drop in about a half an hour later."

"Do you think it's Howard?"

"… I don't want to think that, no."

Wufei nodded again and headed back to the kitchen. Duo would be a liar if he said he didn't watch him go. That ass was the same as it had always been.

~!~!~

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